The car in question is a Hobbyking Desert Fox RC car – normally a four-wheel drive truck which ships ready-to-run, making it a great way to get a project started quickly. Rocket power is provided by the same type of motor used in the Swedish Rocket Knives we’ve covered previously.

Initial testing proves unsuccessful – the car simply tumbles out of control when the rocket is fired. It takes a beating, losing a wheel in the process. Following on from this, a decision is made to cook up a slower burning rocket motor and switch to an asphalt surface for testing. This is much more succesful and the car begins to see some properly high speeds, nearly peeling the tyres off the rim in the process!

It’s a fun concept that could likely be replicated with off-the-shelf rocket motors, too. Throw us your ideas for better rocket powered transports in the comments below.

My recollection of the rocket car story comes from the autobiography of Andy Granatelli, “They Call Me Mr 500.” He describes his earlier days where they built a car for an attraction at short oval tracks. Their first test of the surplus JATO rockets was something of a dud. This was unfortunate because they decided to ignite multiple rockets on the vehicle at the same time for a more impressive effect. This made for a more entertaining part of the book…